The Grotto: Great Italian fare in simple surroundings

At The Grotto on Bethlehem's South Side, homemade rolls are served in a red plastic basket. It's a telling detail that pretty much sums up this eatery  simple fare simply served.

Down a flight of stairs from the street, The Grotto's cave-like darkness hales from its windowless basement home. Black calico oilcloths and knotty pine paneling call out from decades ago, and the colors of a mural of Venice's Grand Canal seem dull and tired. On the floor, the black-and-white squares of linoleum are chipped and cracked.

The restaurant's tattered look borders on dinginess, yet it's that very quality that gives this eatery its character and charm. There's clearly a history here (our server told us the restaurant has been dishing out its Italian food for 50 years), and that wealth of human experience shines through the soft glow of the pine paneling.

For nearby Lehigh University students, The Grotto's jeans-and-T-shirts comfort zone and its reasonable prices (less than $5 for a small pizza; less than $8 for a bowl of pasta) must render it a prime watering hole.

When I visited, dinner salads, served before the appetizer, were fresh, but unremarkable: romaine, a slice or two of cucumber and shreds of red cabbage and carrot. The out-of-balance balsamic vinaigrette was acidic and biting. Those house-made rolls in that plastic basket were comfort food  warm, with a touch of sweetness.

The stuffed mushroom appetizer was disappointing. Between a heavy-handed butter-type sauce and the provolone cheese topping, the delicate flavor of the crabmeat in the stuffing was all but obliterated.

From the evening's list of specials, both entrees we chose  lasagna and cavatelli  offered a choice of sausage or meatballs.

The large serving of meatless lasagna provided two meals: one at the restaurant and another at home a couple of days later. The layers of this pasta classic, savory and robustly flavored, seemed built with great care, so evenly distributed were the sauce and cheese. Two pieces of Italian sausage, obviously skillfully grilled, added texture and more flavor.

Topping the cavatelli  perfectly al dente with just a bit of chewiness at the pasta's center  were two meatballs on steroids. Tender, moist and subtly seasoned, these excellent specimens, which had to be hand formed, would be competitive contestants in an ultimate comfort food competition. Richly flavored sauce added depth to this dish.

There were no desserts available the night I visited, which was disappointing. It didn't help when our server described the small chocolate cakes  and how good they are  that the restaurant usually offers. He could not explain, however, why there were no desserts delivered that night.